Press conference

Why Ozil and Kolasinac missed the Emirates Cup

Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac
Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac

There were two familiar names missing from our teamsheet at Sunday’s Emirates Cup - Sead Kolasinac and Mesut Ozil.

The pair were targeted by armed robbers in London on Thursday, and were not considered for selection at the weekend as a result, as explained by Unai Emery in his post-match press conference:

on Ozil and Kolasinac's absence from today's team...

Every player is very important in the team, but also each moment and some circumstances give us a decision between the player and us. It's not a good moment to play because their mind is not now 100 per cent. It's a very personal circumstance and the most important thing now is that they can feel good, they can feel safe, they can feel calm with their family. They came this morning but I spoke to them and decided it was best to continue their resting with their families and wait for a few days to hopefully come and start normally with the team.

on whether Ozil and Kolasinac will have more time off…

We are going to see each day. Tomorrow we are going to check again how they are. This morning they came here but weren’t ready to play the match.